Annie Rieg, Miss Butler County, talks about how cancer and organ donation affected her family through her grandfather during a flag-raising ceremony at Butler Memorial Hospital on Thursday, April 16, 2026. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle

Rob McGraw

Hats off to Miss Butler County Annie Rieg for using her public appearances to push for more organ and tissue donations.

At a recent appearance at Butler Memorial Hospital as part of a ceremony publicizing National Donate Life Month Rieg shared how her grandfather died while he was on a transplant waitlist and how her cousin received a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

Her experience has led her to working as an assistant with the Center for Organ Recovery & Education, as well as advocating for more organ and tissue donors in her duties as Miss Butler County.

But the importance of organ donation goes far beyond Rieg’s family.

The Health Resources & Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reports more than 103,000 Americans are on a waiting list for an organ transplant.

Every eight minutes another potential recipient is added to the waiting list. Also, unfortunately, each day 13 people on the waiting list die before they can receive a transplant.

According to the 2019 National Survey of Organ Donation Attitudes and Practices, 90% of adult Americans support organ donations, but only 60% have signed up to be donors.

Even those who do register for deceased organ donation may not be able to pass along that gift of life. Only 3 in 1,000 people will die in a way that allows for their organs to be donated. That’s why it’s important that more willing donors step forward.

Anyone of any age or health condition can register to be a donor. People should know organ donation will not leave their survivors stuck with additional medical expenses or preclude the possibility for an open casket funeral.

In Pennsylvania, it is easy and free to register as an organ donor. If you need to get your photo taken for a driver’s license or state identification card, you can have the organ donor designation printed on your new card. Or the state Department of Transportation allows you to register as an organ donor online.

A process that can take a few minutes can mean extended or improved life for an organ or tissue recipient.

It’s estimated every organ or tissue donor could save eight lives and improve the lives of 75 more people.

That’s the message Annie Rieg is trying to get out and one we should all listen to.

— EF